Month: October 2002

LOS ANGELES – Barney Productions put on it second annual Halloween bash on Oct. 25. This time it was at the Skirball Center.

Dr. Brian Goldman showed up in scrubs looking for the Weizman bar mitzvah but found a rager with indoor and outdoor DJs and young ladies dressed in aqua blue body tights and two Wonderwomen.

Chris Good won the Dan Romero Memorial “Round Mound of Rebound” Award for having gained the most weight since marriage. If Chris’ shirt had been tighter, he would have resembled Handbone of old trudging up Bruin Walk wearing our letters. Chris’s costume was of his older brother Scott Good. He was booted from the costume contest by the emcee, none other than his older brother Scott Good.

Sean Topp won the Scot Kawano Memorial Humanitarian Award (“Why, certainly I’ll drive you back to Bakersfield the day after Moonshiner after your friends left you!”) for driving home Brian Goldman’s roommate and allowing her to puke four times. He should have used Rich Heinrich’s response after she bugged him for a ride – “No way!”

Derrick Hindery attended with his delightful wife, Vania, dressed as an Air Malaysia flight attendent (Vania, not Derrick). Derrick’s cousin Gleb showed up without a costume, dressed in his typical cheese/greaser outfit, scaring the Wonderwomen back to Superhero Central in dowtown Gotham City.

Arturo Martinez, the pride of Cuba, dressed as Fidel and/or Che, hoping to export the revoluccion from the West Side to all oppressed lawyers.

Herman Quispe dressed as a homeless man, the most popular costume seen on the street these days in Buenos Aires in the aftermath of Argentina’s economic austerity program.

Jeff Bara attended, dressed as Mr. Clean meets James Dean. (Bald with a leather jacket.)

A highlight of the evening was a reunion of the “Buffooning Guise,” the mid-1990s rock band that frequented 14 Below. Scott Good was on guitar and Brian Goldman was on the drums with their former partner, Phil, who now talks to them.

Brothers, For the fall quarter we have 23 bright eyed, “Real Stud” pledges. Last Friday night I had them and 7 actives to the Tunnell Ranch near Santa Maria for their pledge retreat. I got some sleep between 6-9 AM but managed to survive. They slept in sleeping bags in various empty rooms and were quite a sight when I awoke and started breakfast. After a hearty breakfast of 6 pounds of bacon, 2 dozen scrambled eggs and frozen pancakes cooked in the microwave they were mostly awake. They elected officers, held some bonding games and listened to my admonitions attentively. They picked up all their trash (filling a pickup bed) mopped the floor for me and were on their way by about 1:30 PM. They couldn’t disturb anyone at the ranch since the closest neighbor is at least 3/4 of a mile away. The two acre yard is fenced so they couldn’t get lost in the brush.

Originally published in the Los Angeles Times Letters to the Editor Section October 6, 2002.

Brides today are sickening and self-centered and only care about showing up people who are supposed to be their friends (“Brides Pay Princely Sum to Be Cinderellas,” Oct. 2). I hope Renee Rodriquez and Michael Matthews feel good that part of their $42,000 could have been contributed to a good charity, many of which are in need of donations. What makes the day special is the gift of togetherness, not how much you spend on a cake that assuredly will taste bad and a lame serving dish to add to the 10 never used anyway. For men, a keg of beer and a good football game on TV are all you really need for a good wedding reception.

Fullerton, CA (5/4/02) – The UCLA Alumni Associaiton of Sigma Pi Fraternity hit the 2002 Sigma Pi World Series this past May. The format of the tournament was changed from a double elimination style to a round robin.

This year’s team consisted of a few new faces in recent graduates. Jeff Brown, Phil Farias and Dustin Beckley made their Alumni debuts with little pomp and circumstance. Same crafty vets returned to round out the squad including Matt Malone, Dave Canty, Dan Romero, Matt Bradley, Omar Vallejo, and Dwain Jefferson.

The Bruins drew an 8:30 game vs. OCAA #8 at Titan Field.

After falling behind 2-0, the Bruins took advantage of a couple early errors from #8. They tied the game at two a piece going into the second inning. A leadoff double by Romero was followed up by singles from Vallejo and Bradley. Matt “MAY DAY” Malone completed the scoring with a two-run HR for a five run inning. The Bruins went on to plate a few more runs here and there, and walked off with a 11-4 victory. Dwain Jefferson and Romero combined to go 6 for 6 in the game, splitting Player of the Game (P.O.G.) honors.

Game two brought on the USC Alumni squad… the Bruins natural cross-town rivals. Much like years past, this rivalry was quickly reduced to a thumping as the Bruins put nine runs on the board in the top half of the first inning. Jeff Brown had a HR, a double and four RBI in the first. Upsilon continued to cruise, until they walked off with a 21-3 victory. P.O.G. honors went to Brown, who finished the game with a 4 for 4 game with a HR and 5 RBI’s.

The third game brought the LONG BEACH STATE alumni into the fold. This has been a heated rivalry for quite some time. Long Beach State even got into it with the UCLA active squad last year. “For the most part, they are solid guys, but there are always 2-3 guys on that team that talk sh*t. I don’t get it.” said Mike McKenzie.

After allowing three runs in the top of the first, the Bruins jumped all over the 49ers with 12 big runs in the bottom half of the inning. Aside from Matt Bradley (Walk), every Bruin got a hit in the inning, highlighted by a three-run homer by Phil Farias. the LBC would have none of it though, and plated five unearned runs in the top of the 2nd. Again, the Bruins responded with three of there own. Again, the LBC bats came at Upsilon, with six runs in the top of the third… and again, the Bruins responded, this time with six big runs of their own. Omar Vallejo did the most damage with a 2 run scoring triple to RCF.

The top of the 4th brought some controversy. After recording two outs, a sharply hit ball went to 3B Dan Romero. He attempted to step on third for the final out, but was beat to the bag by the runner. According to Bruin statition Brad Layous and Shonda Murphy, the 49ers scored six runs. However they told the umpire they scored eight… and eight runs they got. “I know they got six because I counted every run after I didn’t get to third on time. I could have ended the inning, but instead all those runs came in. I had six, Layous had six, Shonda had six. What can you do… not sure why people would cheat in rec league softball, but whatever.” said Romero.

The eight runs tied the ball game, however the Bruins still had the HAMMER. They scored two runs in the bottom of the inning to regain a two-run lead. Things were not comfortabl though as the LBC had scored 3, 5, 6, and “8” in the previous four innings… not a comforting trend. Pitcher Matt Malone was able to buckle down, and the defense nutted up. With one run across, and two outs, Malone delivered a wicked 1-2 off-speed pitch that the LBC player took looking. “BACKWARDS K” yelled Dustin Beckley after the ball hit the plate. The Bruins finally got the Long Beach monkey off their back with a big 23-22 victory. The Bruins were 0-3 vs. Long Beach in the previous two years. Omar Vallejo took the P.O.G. falling a double short of the cycle. (4 for 4 with a 3B, HR and 5 RBI).

The victory put the Bruins in first place in their bracket at 3-0, earning them the #1 seed from their pool. They were matched up against the UCI active squad which also went 3-0 in their heat, but took the #2 seed due to run differntial. The UCI squad was defintely revamped from the group the Bruins saw in 2000. These boys could HIT! With some beligerant drunk actives holding true some past traditions, they talked junk that players could not back up. The Bruins held a brief 1-0 lead after one inning, and that was the end of that. UCI went on to the 17-2 mercy rule victory through six innings, and moved on in the playoffs. Brown earned P.O.G. in this bad boy by going 2 for 3.

Again, the Bruins had a succesfull and fun year out at Cal State Fullerton. Many thanks to David DeFillipo and the other Cal State Fullerton Alumni /Actives who put the tournament together. Hopefully 2003 UCLA will be able to field two squads for some more Bruin fun! Special thanks also to our fans who came from all over SoCal to cheer us on. Jared Frandle, Tim Howell, Brad Layous, Shonda Murphy, Erik Stern, Bruce MacDonald and Mark Shroekenstein earn the vaunted 11th man award. Good times, as per usual, were had by all.

Four Brothers of Upsilon chapter made their way to Philadelphia this past August for the Fraternity’s 2002 Convocation. The four Brothers who attended, President, Jake Loughridge, Vice President, Mark Goldsmith, past rush chairman, Kasper Szuba, and the designated Alumni representative, Scott Scheffler, all participated in the events and activities of the four day long Convocation. The delegates all worked hard and helped pass new by-laws and constitutional changes and attended specialized sessions that met on topics such as campus image, audit and budget, and scholarship. During the awards ceremonies the chapter received two awards, one for efficiency and one for scholarship. The award for efficiency is based upon reports that the chapter officers turn in to the International organization. However, the Brothers were most pleased with their award for scholarship, which distinguished them as one of the Top Ten Chapters based on GPA. The Brothers of Upsilon maintained an average GPA of 3.12 over the last biennium. The Alumni also took home the Louis Foley Alumni Newsletter Award for their excellent production of the Pioneer over this last year. In addition to the many meetings and awards, the Brothers also found time to hang out with Alumnus, Bill Meyer, and many other great Brothers from the University of Colorado, the University of Texas, the University of Oregon, and Temple University in Philadelphia. Although the Convocation was tiresome and intense, all of the Brothers had a great time and are looking forward to the 2004 Convocation in Chicago.

As many of you know, one of our very own is running for the United States House of Representatives. Fellow alumni Stu Johnson (former Sage, Upsilon Class of 1993) is waging a strong campaign for the 36th Congressional District of California. Many Sigma Pi alumni from the Upsilon Chapter have played an integral part in Stu’s campaign and are a major reason for his recent surge.

Having already personally visited over 8,000 homes in the 36th District, Stu and his army of volunteers have gotten his message of strengthening national defense, reforming education and simplifying taxes out to tens of thousands of voters. The campaign has raised over $100,000 in large part due to the aid of Sigma Pi alumni. Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Dennis Hastert attended a recent fundraiser for Stu and dozens of members of Congress and numerous community leaders have endorsed Stu. Despite all of this, Stu is challenging a wealthy incumbent, Jane Harman, who can use taxpayer money to send mailings to over 300,000 households in the district. As such, Stu needs our help.

If you are interested in helping out with the campaign, contributing financially or just giving our brother some words of encouragement, please contact Stu at campaign headquarters at 310-545-4259 or email him at stu@stujohnson.org. With the momentum and excitement generated by Stu’s campaign – combined with help from fraternity brothers like you – soon we’ll have a Sigma Pi Upsilon alumnus in one of the highest political offices in the United States.